I'm going to go with weight for a set of scales. I bet the exact weight is stamped on the other side and that's why we don't get to see the bottom.
"Carl G." wrote: (clip) 716. Needle valve needle sharpener (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Gasp. Rob, I think Carl deserves half credit here, don't you?
Yep, the needle sharpener part is correct.
Rob
"> > 717 - Bookbinding press, used for holding signatures while you sew them.
I forgot to include the patent date on my site: 1-12-04. It was marked "bookbinder", I guess they made them different over 100 years ago. Other text on it reads "Boorum & Pease L.L.B. Co." The ruler on it has zero in the middle and goes to ten in both directions in what looks to be half inch increments:
Rob
I think that's also a regional variation. Although we're talking about the same thing (lightweight, wooden, holds things) rather than a real press (heavy, iron, squashes things) they get called "presses" too.
Round here a "press" can also mean simply a cupboard!
There's a similar one in our local bookbinding museum, although it's for magazine and pamphlet work rather than books. Supposedly it was used for posh art magazines around 1900.
How about "gramophone" needle sharpener?
Jim
You're on the right track, but it was for a specific type of needle.
Rob
Is "gramophone" not specific enough? Phonograph? Or are you talking specific make of needle?
Jim
I meant specific make, the material and the producer are both uncommon compared to a regular phono needle.
Rob
I think that's just a colour cast from tungsten light.
I said Tek because the vernier knobs are red, it looks a bit more sophisticated than a cheap Hameg or other Asian scope (more red knobs) and I remember them having the built-in DMM / frequency counter.
A HP would have bigger, tasteful grey knobs and they'd probably be missing because HP's knobs always used to break.
Another clue: The model number is shown in the picture.
Carl G.
According to R.H. :
Hmm ... perhaps a needle made from a cactus needle? I know that they were used at one time as being kinder to the record grooves.
Enjoy, DoN.
According to Andy Dingley :
[ ... ]
Yes -- they were some form of Bakelite with too little (or no) metal inserts, so the stress of the setscrews would eventually split the knobs -- especially on the smaller ones.
Enjoy, DoN.
This answer is correct.
Rob
Ok, I stand corrected. Thanks for the info. I still think that the English bookbinding references I've read refer to the sewing frame as such, rather than as a "press", but I wouldn't want to swear to it. The sewing frame has no top cheek at all only a cross bar for tying the cords or tapes. The signatures just rest loose on one another and are sewn through with one hand inside the open fold. There is lots of use for small wooden presses that hold things, like small variants of the lying press. We use those as well, and also call them "presses" though as you note they are really used more like a bench vise for books. Not the same thing as a sewing frame, though. The type of thing I'm referring to is the leading image at
Of course there was/is a fair bit of regional variation in the trade lingo, and as you note English English definitely has a more catholic interpretation of "press". You definitely have me beat on item 717, though. I'll be forwarding the picture as an FYI to a few binders, be curious to hear if anyone has used one of these things.
Regards,
Adam Smith Midland, ON
"more specific" is going to be the needle material.
Adam
According to R.H. :
Out of curiosity -- was this expected to be placed on the platter and spun by that, with the user's hand holding the wooden cylinder against rotation?
Are there instructions on the back of that box for it?
Thanks, DoN.
"DoN. Nichols" wrote (referring to cactus needle sharpener): Out of curiosity -- was this expected to be placed on the platter and spun by that, with the user's hand holding the wooden cylinder against rotation?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ There are no instructions on the box, and I have no idea whether it originally had printed instructions with it. Here is how it would be used: You can see that the needle is held in a small chuck, which is driven by a wheel with a rubber tire. The tire is in contact with a sandpaper ring, which the tip of the needle also touches. You would hold the wooden base in one hand, and spin the green handle back and forth, applying gentle pressure against the sandpaper. The rubber tire would roll on the sandpaper, forcing the needle to revolve counter to its direction of motion, producing a little conical tip.
I mentioned to Rob in a separate e-mail, and I'll add here, just for fun--I also have a few phono needles that are made of bone, and have a triangular cross section. One end is sanded off at an angle, to produce a sharp tip, and this can be resharpened by sanding it very lightly.
#718 is a "Razor Sharpening Machine" patented by Alexander Dey of Glasgow, Scotland. Patent #389291 see:
if he is from one of the newsgroups.
Rob
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